At 48 AQI, Lucknow feels fresher than Ooty
Lucknow's air quality has improved significantly, with an AQI of 48, cleaner than some hill stations, but pollution may rise again post-monsoon.
The city, over the past few weeks, has breathed air cleaner than even several hill stations in the country, thanks to the frequent monsoon showers.
Out of the 26 days of August till Tuesday, Lucknow witnessed 10 ‘good’ and 16 ‘satisfactory’ days as the air quality index (AQI) was recorded below 90 on all of these days, Central Pollution Control Board data suggested.
CPCB defines AQI between 0 and 50 as ‘good’ and 51 and 100 as satisfactory.
On Tuesday, the city’s AQI dropped to 48, indicating that the air quality was cleaner than in Kohima (68), Rajgir (84), and Ooty (50).
“Monsoon is the biggest purifier,” said JP Maurya, the regional officer of UP Pollution Control Board. “Rainfall brings PM2.5 and PM10 dust particles down.”
However, the expert warned that this clean spell might not last long. August will possibly have the cleanest air this year since, come September, the city is likely to witness a surge in air pollution again. “Once the monsoon retreats, pollution from sources like traffic and construction will spike again,” Maurya cautioned.
Residents, meanwhile, are ecstatic. “It feels like we are in the hills without leaving home,” laughed Saurabh Verma from Gomti Nagar. “Morning walks have never been this refreshing.”
Among the five live AQI monitoring stations, Kukrail led the chart with an AQI of just 31, followed by 41 in Gomti Nagar on Tuesday. The industrial Talkatora clocked a mere 53, while polluted Lalbagh’s AQI stood at 56. Aliganj’s Kendriya Vidyalaya and BR Ambedkar station recorded 61 and 59 AQI, respectively.
